 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Joel Clifton
Date: 2003-04-02 14:35
WWBW sells clarinets in G, C, and I think some other keys. Do people actually use those? I've never seen or heard them used.
What is the point of getting one anyway? If you have an A and Bb, the most you'll have to worry about is three or four flats or sharps.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-04-02 15:17
Sure people use them. Mainly in orchestras where music could be written in any concievable key (I'm playing in an orchestra with one piece of music that's written in G and one that's in C). People would use these instead of having to transpose something. However I think the majority of people would use an A or Bb clarinet and transpose the piece.
There are also Clarinets in D, F, Eb, and I'm sure other keys that I forgot.
I find it acceptable enough to sight transpose a piece that's in C using my Bb clarinet. As for the G, the piece isn't too tough so I'm also sight-transposing that one with my Bb, however if it was tougher, I would have been inclined to re-write so I could read it normally.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-04-02 15:27
They’re used for their tone color as much as for their pitch. The C clarinet, especially, has a very bright tone that’s hard to get from a Bb. A guy I play with in my wind symphony also played this past weekend with our local symphony on Mahler’s Titan, w hich calls for just about every clarinet ever made. He said that while they transposed the C parts on the Bb, they also had to use very thin reeds to approximate the color of a C clarinet.
In fact, from what I’ve read here, the main reason the Bb clarin et is in existence is because the C clarinet’s color was deemed too bright and piercing, so it was lengthened to drop the pitch a whole step and to darken its tone..
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
Post Edited (2003-04-02 16:30)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-04-02 15:32
If there has been a desire by a clar-knowledgable composer for a certain horn's tonal character, not just transposing assistance, then , to me, its a conductors decision to be a "purist" if possible. I have suggested several times playing Mozart's Basset Horn music on alto cls, but havent done so and have been "frowned On". They are different insts!! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-04-02 15:49
G Albert's are still made in Italy for the Turkish market. Stuart Mennon in Albuquerque (New Shtetl Band & other groups) has one that is just a couple of years old.
Don't forget the A-flat sopranino clarinet. Don't know if these are still available or where it would be used.
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2003-04-02 16:23
Ralph Katz wrote:
> Don't forget the A-flat sopranino clarinet. Don't know if
> these are still available or where it would be used.
Leblanc still makes the Ab Sopranino LL model I do believe. I have no idea where they would be used, but I have come across a few of them in collectors' collections ( I guess they are just nice to have).
Bradley
Practice makes nearly perfect!
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2003-04-02 16:55
Stew Mennen is an amazing player!!! I've met him through the annual Balkan music camps. I was able to play his Orsi G horn last summer, and WOW! that thing is sooooooo much better than my Turkish-made metal G horn!!!
It's sound was mellow and the horn felt smooth and even light!
My C horn (which I haven't had time to play in months) is an older Pepper "Albert" system. It's a lot of fun too, but the keywork is a little unstable and sticky at times...
Note: the Turkish G horns are in LOW G. There are Viennese HIGH G horns out there too.
Katrina
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-04-02 19:32
Stew sat in with us on a Klezmer dance gig about 6 years ago and it was a lot of fun. He had a home-made double case for his B-flat and G Albert clarinets.
We are both wrong - according to Google, the correct spelling of his name is "Stewart Mennin".
|-(8^)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-04-02 19:59
In response to DB's and Ralph G's comments on tonality. I didn't even think about this. Of course it's true. In my college chamber ensemble I performed Five Divertimenti by Mozart. We did Divertimento number two. A trio written for three basset horns. The recording that I listened to in order to better understand how to interpret it was actually three basset horns playing (I believe it was the netherlands wind symphony or some such - don't yell at me for not knowing exactly who performed it). And it did sound beautiful, yet definitely different than three clarinets.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-04-02 23:45
C clarinets are now very popular in opera orchestras - as a lot of Verdi, Rossini clarinet parts are written using them (as well as As and Bbs).
At least a couple of the big brand makers make clarinets pitched in C. If I had the money I'd buy one. Ralph G is spot on ... the tone of the C is quite bright but not as bright as it's higher E flat cousin
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2003-04-03 02:58
Yeah, will, Realfff...I no how to spill...
LOL!!!
Katreeeeeena
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Author: bob49t
Date: 2003-04-03 05:55
C Clarinets are often specified for Beethoven symphonies (tone colour) and of course are most useful for playing say violin, flute, oboe solos without having to transpose. I notice that Amati make 2 c clars - one plastic, one timber.
:)
Bob T
Hello !Smileys non-functional ???
BobT
Post Edited (2003-04-03 06:58)
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Author: happyamateur
Date: 2003-04-03 06:09
I've a late 19th century Thibouville lp C simple system and, much to my surprise, it has a terrific, resonant tone and excellent intonation, too. Don't overlook these old instruments if you're just looking to have one for your own pleasure.
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-04-04 00:41
happyamateur - wow, sounds like an antique - where did you pick it up? And do you know exactly when it was manufactured?
diz, sydney
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Author: Dee
Date: 2003-04-04 00:45
If the instrument is actually marked "LP" or marked "Low Pitch," then it would have been manufactured sometime between the mid 1890s and mid 1930s.
Question for happyamateur: Are you sure it is actually a simple system rather than a Mueller or Albert? These are not the same and many times the terms are used interchangeably when that is actually incorrect.
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